Mineral Investigations in the Admiralty Island Mining District, Southeast Alaska

In 2005 and 2006 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) investigators surveyed, mapped, or sampled 24 mineral occurrences in the Admiralty Island Mining District in Southeast Alaska. The BLM collected and analyzed 109 rock chip, pan concentrate, and stream sediment samples during the investigation.

This report comprises mainly the results of geochemical analysis of samples collected by the BLM during the mineral assessment of the Admiralty Island district. The results represent an abbreviated mineral assessment of the district due to the elimination of the Alaska Minerals Program.

BLM investigators concentrated their investigation on the Triassic belt of rocks on the eastern side of Admiralty Island, which holds the potential for hosting VHMS-type occurrences similar to the Kennecott Greens Creek Mine. The most prospective parts of the Triassic belt, as suggested by geochemical studies by the USGS and State of Alaska, are the upper Seymore Canal area and Gambier Bay. Most of the BLM sampling was focused on these areas.